Black Friday 'Doorbusters' Don't Always Hold Up

From matching rivals' prices to avoiding Black Friday discounting altogether, retailers are testing out a host of strategies this holiday season as they try to energize sales and profits during their most critical time of the year. But will they work? Dana Mattioli has details on Lunch Break. Photo: AP.

By

Dana Mattioli

Updated Nov. 22, 2012 5:37 p.m. ET

Every Black Friday, retailers lure shoppers in the cold, predawn hours to wait in long lines with the promise of one-day-only deals that can't be beat. And every year, shoppers ask themselves, "Is this really worth it?"

The answer, it turns out, often is, "No."

An analysis by pricing research firm Decide Inc. and The Wall Street Journal of this year's most-touted Black Friday deals found that many of the bargains advertised as "doorbusters" were available at lower prices at other times of the year—sometimes even at the same retailer.

Decide has gathered years' of online price data and uses it to tell subscribers when they should pull the trigger on purchases. It looked at more than 500 doorbusters advertised in Black Friday circulars by big-box and department stores such as Target Corp.TGT-0.10%, Best Buy Co.BBY0.53% and Sears Holdings Corp.SHLD1.22% and found that nearly one-third of the products had been sold at lower prices this year, said Decide Chief Executive Mike Fridgen.

Sears, for example, is advertising a KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer for $319.99 this Black Friday. Decide found that the retailer offered the same mixer for $296 in March.

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"We believe our advertised prices are competitive and we are well-positioned to give our customers great value," a Sears spokesman said by email. "Like any retailer, our pricing varies throughout the year."

Home Depot Inc.HD0.49% is advertising a General Electric Co.GE-0.08% Adora dishwasher for $598 on Black Friday, touting a savings of $151. But as recently as last month, the home-improvement retailer was selling that same dishwasher for $538, Decide found.

Home Depot said the earlier discount was a Columbus Day special but that the majority of its Black Friday deals are its best of the year.

Decide's Web-scraping technology doesn't always capture subtle changes in certain deals. For example, it found that the 32-gigabyte, fifth-generation Apple Inc.AAPL-0.87% iPod Touch that Best Buy is advertising for $294.99 on Black Friday was priced $10 cheaper last week.

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But a Best Buy spokeswoman said the chain is giving away a $50 gift card that buyers of the iPod can use toward their next purchase at the retailer.

Black Friday long has been a game of convincing shoppers that prices are so good that the consumers can't afford to miss out. Retailers have adopted certain tactics over the years, from deeply discounting a limited supply of loss leaders to lining up less-expensive items that can be sold at low prices without killing profit margins.

Retailers generally don't promise the lowest price ever, and Decide found that many of the bargains appeared to be genuine. The research firm said the majority of the doorbuster deals it checked hadn't been available at lower prices during the year.

Still, the transparency and easy aggregation afforded by online pricing is making it simpler than ever to test retailers' claims. Decide, for example, found that retailers often pick popular brands or lower-quality items for deep discounts on Black Friday.

"Technology has made it possible for consumers to be aware of what's a deal and what's truly a marketing ploy," Mr. Fridgen said.

A Wall Street Journal analysis this fall found that Black Friday isn't necessarily the best time to buy some popular holiday gifts. Popular items such as watches and jewelry typically sell for their lowest prices in October. Other items, such as flat-screen television sets are best bought at the beginning of the year.

Rob Docters, a senior member of McKinsey & Co.'s pricing practice, said retailers are likely counting on consumers to assume that this week's advertised sales are the year's best. "People associate Black Friday with good prices, and that eliminates the need to check price," he said.

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